Think Again is an international art project which offers interdisciplinary dialogues that allow thoughts and concepts flow across cultural borders and genres.

About Vision Forum

This project is a part of Vision Forum. We carry out research, meetings and production in contemporary visual art. We also offer select educational modules in collaboration with KSM at Linköpings Universitet.

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Monday, January 14, 2013

The Think Again Catalogue is nearing completion. Here is a snippet from Per Hüttner's text on the logic of the project:

"In order to make sure that our lives become interesting and meaningful, we need to safeguard diversity, difference and the right to foster and develop each individual’s inherent uniqueness. This holds true whether you come from a country with 10 million or around 1,5 billion inhabitants. As the title suggests, the project also stipulated that all creativity is connected to thought (even if its output is physical, practical, corporeal or visceral). So what does it mean to think? The question is as old as thinking itself. Certain philosophers say that as long as thought continues to presuppose its own good nature and good will, as long as “thought” is grounded in common sense, it will think nothing. Thinking is therefore two-sided. One side is grounded in tradition and the other breaks with the same. Or phrased differently, we cannot break all the rules at the same time. But we also need to break some of the rules in order to be creative. Rule breaking is fundamental for our survival.

But other thinkers go further. They claim that thought is the act of thinking something that no other human being has ever thought before. We have to ask ourselves if there is there a limit to thought? If so what are the boundaries defined by language, technology, tradition and the physical restrictions of our brains? Does thinking have to be logical? Or can thought embrace paradox, the absurd or even madness? An explicit goal of the project was to create space for the enjoyment of misunderstanding, non-understanding and other nonsensical forms of communication. The project takes inspiration in Taoist thinking and strains of western philosophy. We do so to overcome the fear of the unknown - which is thinking’s worst enemy. But I will return to this in a moment."

More about the project

Think Again is a transdisciplinary research project that brings together artists, curators, academics and inventors from Europe and China to reflect on the nature of creativity and how it can be encouraged. The project is a collaboration between Linköpings Universitet and various universities in and around Shanghai. It was shown publicly at The Mingshen Art Museum and Rockbund Art Museum, FCAC and other venues May 21-31, 2012. To find read more about Think Again click here and to see the program for Think Again click here.